This belief has received criticism, mostly in the last 200 years, yet remains supported by both scripture and early church tradition. Pentateuch, authorship, mosaic authorship, torah, documentary hypothesis, fragment and supplemental hypothesis, form and traditiohistorical criticism, canonical and literary criticism. Those who argue for mosaic authorship will point to what they consider to be several lines of evidence. Modern views of the authorship of the pentateuch i am now nearly finished talking about the documentary hypothesis devised by scholars of the hebrew bible to account for the pentateuch, the first five books of the hebrew bible. Sinai in jewish scripture and tradition, yale university press, 2015 the tenets of biblical criticism challenge traditional jewish beliefs on a number of levels. The pentateuch as we now have it is composed of a variety of written sources that have been woven together, all of which are themselves based on earlier oral traditions that had been in circulation for a long period of time as story tellers told and retold the stories about much earlier times. The rest of the pentateuch is claimed to be written by moses, as well ex. These introductions sketch for the reader some of the key structures in the outline of a book and some of the major religious themes that play a crucial role in the texts message for us.
Mosaic authorship is the tradition attributing the five books of the torah or pentateuch to moses, the legendary leader, lawgiver, and prophet of the israelites who figures as the main protagonist in the book of exodus. This method has been applied to texts of the old testament especially but not. But since other old testament authors affirm mosaic authorship. See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human. Professor of oriental and old testament literature in princeton theological seminary 1895 edition published by charles scribners sons. The problem of the interpretation of the bible is hardly a modern phenomenon, even if at times that is what some would have us believe. Garrett looks at the various possible sources of information that moses drew on in putting together his account of the origins of the earth and the appearance of the history of israel. Modern views of the authorship of the pentateuch the. Israels culture is established by providing a manual of ordinances to help with. Our savior affirmed that moses wrote the pentateuch on many occasions for example, matt.
But these are not enough to affect the general proposition. This does not mean that moses didnt use other documents to write his books. But the evidence which the critics produce in this case is wholly circumstantial, consisting of inferences derived from a literary analysis of the documents and from. Of course, the prophet moses wrote it after all, thats what its called, and thats what scripture and tradition teaches. Click to access printer friendly copy in pdf format. There was a similar ark in pharaoh tutankhamens tomb. I have been discussing the sources of the pentateuch, the first five books of the hebrew bibleold testament genesis, exodus, leviticus, numbers, deuteronomy, sometimes also called the torah or the law of moses. The authorship of pentateuch before developing a synthesis of the individual books. In the most literal sense, the pentateuch1 or torah is an anonymous work, but. Pentateuch itself at the beginning, as well as specific introductions placed before the opening chapter of each individual book. Talmudic traditions do link some books to wellknown biblical figures, yet most of the books do not directly identify their writers, and there is no unambiguous external evidence of authorship. The pentateuch consists of the first five books of the ot. On the other hand, the conservative view holds to mosaic authorship and treats the books as a literary unit. The average orthodox reader of the bible doesnt think about questions such as the authorship or dating of individual books.
The mosaic era was a literary epoch in the worlds history when such codes were common. An assessment of the origins of the book of genesis. Some have argued that the unity of composition supports mosaic authorship. The patrons of the mosaic authorship of the pentateuch, and even the ecclesiastical decree relating to this subject, plainly admit that moses or his secretaries may have utilized sources or documents in the composition of the pentateuch. Lecture 1 pentateuch overview s headhearthand blog. It is argued that the five books of the pentateuch present a coherent picture of the origins of mankind, mankinds fall into sin, and the result of that fall 5. The details of this distinction are subject to further research, but the very distinction seems to be correct.
Liberal scholars teach that the pentateuch was compiled from four original source documentsdesignatedasj,e,d,andp. Names penta teuch five scrollsvolumes torah law, teaching law prophets writings the books of moses did moses write it all. It would have been strange if such a leader had not produced a code of laws. But as time passed biblical critics contested the mosaic authorship of the pentateuch with ever growing confidence. Later biblical figures identify moses with the pentateuch, some even noting his authorship its books. Central to the documentary hypothesis is the contention that the torah is composed of a patchwork of ancient texts written by human. Cambridge university library imprented at malborow in the lande of hesse i. Apologetics press mosaic authorship of the pentateuch. Barrick, the authorship of deuteronomy 34 ets annual meeting, november 1416, 2001 2 concluding his brief treatment of problematic portions of the pentateuch, wolf indicated that the possible postmosaic materials in the pentateuch are relatively minor. We have seen that the mosaic authorship of the book, as a part of the pentateuch, is everywhere assumed by the writers of the new testament.
Whether or not we affirm the essential mosaic authorship of the pentateuch has a direct bearing on the lordship of christ. The mosaic authorship of the pentateuch is supported by the following, among other weighty considerations. Orient the pentateuch within the culture of the ancient near east. Moses the author of the pentateuch, 31 importance of the pentateuch, 31. There have been various opinions as to whether these sources were written or. Theology of the pentateuch 2006 gordonconwell theological seminary, south hamilton, massachusetts 4. A major proposal was that of the documentary hypothesis, which stated there were 4 main. Forthefirsttimeinherlife,shehadbeen toldthatmosescouldnothavebeenthe. Once he establishes the subject of human authorship, sailhamer lays the groundwork for comprehending the character and content of the divine word manifested in the pentateuch. The pentateuch is a history of redemption, not in the cultic meaning suggested by the term salvation history, but in the sense that only those things are recorded that are needed to explain gods redemptive dealings with certain men. However, outside of the more conservative seminaries and churches, it is. Abraham, who lived before the law ante legem, is portrayed as one who kept the law, whereas moses, who lived under the law sub lege, is portrayed as one who died in the wilderness because he did not believe. Commonly attributed as the first five books of the old testament genesis, exodus, leviticus, numbers, and deuteronomy, the pentateuch or torah in hebrew and judaism was among the earliest corpus designated the status of scripture within the jewish orthodox tradition.
Introduction most christians have been taught in sunday school that moses wrote the first five books of the bible. A study of the pentateuch that provides orientation to the original context of the first five books of the old testament, as well as the influence these works had in the shaping of the old testament and new testament and still have in our current context of biblical and theological. Holders of this view reject the notion of supernatural revelation and regard much of the pentateuch as folklore and hebrew storytelling. The higher criticism of the pentateuch gordon college faculty. This art was practised, and most abundantly, in the very nation among whom the hebrews dwelt for liome hundreds of years. Other people argued for the mosaic authorship of parts of the pentateuch. For this reason it is vital to recognize the special character of the first five books of the old testament. Pentateuch 1 pentateuch reading guide and assignments there is a strange idea abroad that in every subject the ancient books should be read only by the professionals, and that the amateur should content himself with the modern booksif the average student wants to find out something about platonism, the very last thing he thinks of doing. The source and authorship of the first book of the pentateuch duane garrett on. By scott simmons director of curriculum third millennium ministries this is a question that is frequently asked, especially since the religion departments in many universities have promoted views contrary to. Genesis, exodus, leviticus, numbers, deuteronomy claims to be written by moses. The pentateuch comes to the reader as an anonymous work.
Pdf the jedp theory and its weaknesses julius mucheregwa. While there is broad agreement among many scholars about the theme of the pentateuch as sketched above, there are very deep differences of opinion about its composition. Multiple authorship of the septuagint pentateuch the. If we want to know what kind of a book we are reading, we skim over the first few pages to see how it starts and what point of view the author adopts.
The term pentateuch comes from the greek term pentateuchos meaning fivevolumed book after the jewish designation, the fivefifths of the law1 c. Genesis, exodus leviticus, numbers, and deuteronomy b. The title the first division of the ct is generally designated as torah heb torah is a noun which came frcm yarah to throw as to shoot educationally the term means direction, instruction or law. Considering the historical reliability of the bible, faq tags authorship of pentateuch, authorship of torah, did moses write the pentateuch, did moses write the torah, documentary hypothesis, jedp, jedp theory, wellhausen, who wrote deuteronomy, who wrote leviticus, who wrote numbers, who wrote the pentateuch, who wrote the torah, william dever. A final reason that one must defend the mosaic authorship of the pentateuch, instead of sitting by idly and claiming that it doesnt really matter who wrote it, is because jesus himself acknowledged that the law came from moses. The term for covenant hebrew berith is used throughout the second millennium bc not the first.
Ross an outline for the theology of the hebrew psalter, 34, and class notes from elliott e. According to the author, the translation of the septuagint pentateuch has two facets. However, sailhamer assumes mosaic authorship in support of the traditional jewish and n. Barrows the term pentateuch is composed of the two greek words, pente, five, and teuchos, which in later alexandrine usage signified book. The greek term pentateuch is also used as a designation to the first division of the bible. When you submit electronic files, please name them as follows. A major factor in this rejection of the tradition of mosaic authorship was the development of the documentary hypothesis, which understood the pentateuch as a composite work made up of four sources, or documents, compiled over centuries in a process. As a result, its authorship and historical reliability have been and will continue. The ancient egyptians were a race of indefati gable writers. A major factor in this rejection of the tradition of mosaic authorship was the development of the documentary hypothesis, which understood the pentateuch as a composite work made up of four sources, or documents, compiled over centuries in a process that was not concluded until long after moses death. It denotes, therefore, the collection of five books. The higher criticism of the pentateuch gordon college.
Robert baralpentateuchmoses author of the torah9252006 adpage 6 of religion the church is finally to appeal unto them 5 and so if doubt arisesas to if moses is the author of the pentateuch, the westminster confession holds that we are to seek. The pentateuch translated by william tyndale number of pages. The pentateuch mark vincent menucha bible school, 2008. The relation between them is one of question and answer. The first five books of the bible, the pentateuch of moses. Additionally, it is important to recognize the use of narratives as a literary genre and to. The nature of the pentateuch what is the pentateuch. The pentateuch records the creation of the earth, the flood, gods covenant with the patriarchs, the exodus, the history of israel, and the laws revealed to moses. The ark is viewed as a footstool for gods actual throne, which was on living cherubim see ezekiel 10. Mosaic authorship of the pentateuchtried and true eric lyons, m. Pentateuch overview page 4 of 10 jesus also connected moses name with the law. Central to the documentary hypothesis is the contention that the torah is composed of a patchwork of ancient texts written by human authors.
The pentateuch itself is only the beginning of that history. Handbook on the pentateuch genesis exodus leviticus numbers deuteronomy second edition victor p. Alan jotkowitz benjamin sommer, revelation and authority. Aug 29, 2017 those who argue for mosaic authorship will point to what they consider to be several lines of evidence. Critical approach over the past 250 years or so, much critical scholarship has been directed towards how the old testament came to us, and specifically with the pentateuch. Sources in the pentateuch dennis bratcher the letters jedp are a designation used by scholars to identify the component parts or sources that they understand were used to compile the first five books of the old testament. Current views on the formation of the pentateuch tend to abandon the major premises of the documentary hypothesis. The question of authorship is no simpler in the remainder of the ot. The term pentateuch is composed of the two greek words, pente, five, and teuchos, which in later alexandrine usage signified book.
Study of the protosamaritan texts has facilitated the separation of ancient elements in the samaritan pentateuch such as were found already in its base text and elements added to it by the samaritans. Modern views of the authorship of the pentateuch the bart. The mosaic authorship of the pentateuch is a view that understands moses to be the main author of the pentateuch i. If you are not able to do this, please submit a hard copy of your paper. The bulk of the five books could indeed have been written by moses or under his. In our inquiries respecting the authorship of the pentateuch, we begin with the undisputed fact that it existed in its present form in the days of christ and.